We kicked start the new year with a “late” breakfast at Thomson Plaza. To be exact, we had some prata and coffee for me, of course. We woke up unusually late (7.30 am) this morning, even though we have been indulging the kids with tiring outings for the past week or two. It was amazing that we took less than 30 mins to leave the house as well. Perhaps we are going to have a good year ahead after all!
After our brekkie, I let Sophie and Alfee ride in their favourite “ambulance”. I used to avoid such rides altogether but I really could not resist watching the kids smile as they pretend they were paramedics. Small things that make their day… and mine… occasionally!
After that, we had to do some grocery shopping before heading home. Papa’s friends were coming over so that we could exchange overdue Christmas pressies. Grocery shopping with Sophie and Alfee can be very challenging, especially if we did not make a shopping list beforehand. They would get cranky over every little "no" I have to say. Occasionally, Papa would make it a mission for them to pick out certain items. However, not when we were in a hurry though, quite ironcally. Still, Alfee is starting to show more and more awareness and interest in his surroundings. Curiosity is alsways good.
I love this stage when Alfee will always smile and look at the camera, unlike Sophie who will deliberately look away or act goofy.
On the other hand, all thanks to Sophie's silly yet bossy nature, Alfee now has a great companion and guardian. Sophie can keep him entertained for hours and she would not hestitate to step in and protect her brother from other older children. And Alfee looks up to her as well, mimicking her every gesture and speech.
Back home, I had to cook their lunch as Auntie Rose is on holidays. Papa watched them in the living room while I drove myself insane in the kitchen. Nowadays, Alfee cannot really be contained in the play yard anymore.. He got really upset and threw himself face down. It was quite comical really. Sophie, on the other hand, would be easily satisfied with some TV time or her dolls
When things got a little too noisy, Papa will Alfee roam freely. So he was picking up everything that Sophie was playing with.
He still mouths stuff and throws things around so I don't really like to let him hang out in the living room actually. I prefer to keep him the the rooms. But today, he was relatively mild and Papa could take some cute pictures of him.
Anyway, we left the house soon after the kids had their lunch. But despite our best effort, we could only leave around 1 pm (which is already 30 mins later than our appointment). Nowadays, we need 2 strollers to pacify the kids. Personally, I don't like Sophie in a pram but she insists.
We reached Waterfront Waves (Bedok Reservoir) around 1.30 pm for Eva’s birthday party. Now Eva, is Auntie Iris’s daughter who is turning two tomorrow (I think). And Auntie Iris is a very capable yet humble ex-colleague of mine.
This is her new place and we love the fact that it faces the reservoir. The development is very new so it looks very bright and refreshing.
Unfortunately, we did not make it i time to sing the little birthday girl a birthday song. Papa took a brief look at the food and declared "not hungry" despite the fact that both of us had not eaten anything for lunch. He was too affected by the chilli to even try other non-spicy food. Thus, he strolled Alfee around the compound. Alfee seemed pretty bored as well since he could not go down to run around.
The birthday cake was sinfully yummy. Alfee is always game for new food and taste so I had to feed him some. Our little girl was not too thrilled, however, that her baby brother got fed. Thus, I went on to feed her as well.
It was great that Auntie Jessy, Auntie Cindy, Auntie Pei Ee and their family all went as well. Sophie was much more manageable with familiar faces around and her friends to play with. They played around the exercise area, fully utilising the facilities.
After the party, we took the opportunity to have tea together at The Bark Café (near Changi Prison, how convenient…) with Auntie Jessy, Auntie Pei Ee and their family. It was quite relaxing and enjoyable despite the untimely shower. Food was decent enough also. It was rather unfortunate that I had to stop Sophie from eating some of the deep fried snacks. She has not been napping or drinking enough fluids lately so I do not want her to take in too much “heaty” food. Besides, it was too near her dinner and she might skip eating again.
Luckily, Auntie Jessy and Auntie Pei Ee were well prepared with some art materials. It got the girls all busy and creative throughout the meal. Sophie was never so into drawing but she always succumbs to peer pressure.
The little man, however, was having some bonding time with Sarah. They looked really cute when they tried to interact with each other. Alfee was much less demanding than her sister so long as he gets some stuff to munch and some time off to work out his little leg muscles.
After the tea break, we did a mini museum tour. It was all about the World War 2 and the Japanese Occupation in Singapore. Not my cup of tea, but I was hoping Papa would try to impart some historical knowledge to her. Alas, that did not happen. We ended up hushing and warning her to lower her voice throughout the short 30 min tour. I suppose she was not ready for such heavy content. Fortunately, the guard was pretty friendly and did not hush us or anything.
Our final destination before we called it a day - East Coast Park. We waited for the shower to ease off a little and Auntie Pei Ee’s cab to arrive before heading off. We have been trying to encourage Little Missy to cycle but somehow, she was either too tired or the bicycle was too high. But again, peer pressure worked. She wanted to play with Xiao Ci and Yun Er some more.
Yet, she fell asleep on the way and we did not know if we should wake her up. In the end, we took a bet and woke her up. She was very grouchy to have her nap interrupted but she complied eventually. I quickly changed her while Papa rented a small bike for her. Poor Alfee could only look on since it was his dinner time and I had to feed him. With much help from Aunite Jessy, we parked ourselves at Old Town Restaurant while Papa took Sophie for her ride.
We did not expect any trouble when we return the bike but the little girl was very tired and reluctant to leave. Fortunately, there were distractions around and her friends were all leaving for dinner. I let her eat her porridge with the girls at Old Town before we headed back home.
No comments:
Post a Comment